Gate valve

ABSTRACT

The gate valve has a body portion with coaxial inlet and outlet openings in the side walls and valve body chamber with opposed converging valve seats. A wedge member has a body portion with a depending wedge shaped gate portion that is movable vertically into a valve chamber within the body portion to control the flow of fluid through the valve body portion. A cover member is secured to the upper face of the valve body and has an elongated chamber communicating with the valve chamber in which the wedge member moves vertically. A guide pin and valve stem are positioned within a cover chamber in spaced parallel relation to each other and on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the gate portion of the wedge member. The wedge member body portion has a longitudinal passageway on one side of the gate portion through which the guide pin extends. The wedge member body portion has a second vertical threaded passageway on the other side of the wedge member gate portion through which the threaded valve stem extends. Rotation of the valve stem moves the wedge member vertically within the chamber of the cover in a manner that the gate portion of the wedge control the flow of fluid through the valve body chamber. The valve body, because of the offset stem configuration, is relatively short in length and may be positioned between closely adjacent pipe flanges.

ilnite States Patent 1 Tricini et al.

[ GATE VALVE [75] Inventors: John D. Tricini, Greensburg; Ed-

ward L. Sehmitt, Pittsburgh, both of Pa.

[73] Assignee: Kerotest Manufacturing Corp., Pittsburgh, Pa.

[22] Filed: May 11, 1971 [21] Appl. No.5 142,185

Primary ExaminerMartin P. Schwadron Assistant Examiner-David R. MatthewsAttorney-Stanley J. Price, Jr.

in] 3,734-,458 [451 May 22,1973

[57] ABSTRACT The gate valve has a body portion with coaxial inlet andoutlet openings in the side walls and valve body chamber with opposedconverging valve seats. A wedge member has a body portion with adepending wedge shaped gate portion that is movable vertically into avalve chamber within the body portion to control the flow of fluidthrough the valve body portion. A cover member is secured to the upperface of the valve body and has an elongated chamber communicating withthe valve chamber in which the wedge member moves vertically. A guidepin and valve stem are positioned within a cover chamber in spacedparallel relation to each other and on opposite sides of thelongitudinal axis of the gate portion of the wedge member. The wedgemember body portion has a longitudinal passageway on one side of thegate portion through which the guide pin extends. The wedge member bodyportion has a second vertical threaded passageway on the other side ofthe wedge member gate portion through which the threaded valve stemextends. Rotation of the valve stem moves the wedge member verticallywithin the chamber of the cover in a manner that the gate portion of thewedge control the flow of fluid through the valve body chamber. Thevalve body, because of the offset stem configuration, is relativelyshort in length and may be positioned between closely adjacent pipeflanges.

8 Claims, 1 Drawing Figure GATE VALVE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention This invention relates to a gate valve and moreparticularly to a gate valve having a valve body of relatively shortlength and an offset valve stem.

2. Description of the Prior Art Valves having stems offset laterallyfrom the valve member are known, as disclosed in US Pat. No. 104,037.Slide valves having offset stems are also known, as disclosed in US.Pat. No. 2,787,348. Irrigation gates, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.1,830,999, include a stem offset laterally from the valve member. Theoffset position of the valve stem relative to the valve member in theprior art valves are for purposes other than reducing the length of thevalve body. Other conventional gate valves require valve bodies ofsubstantial length to provide the necessary structural features insupporting the valve member.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is directed to a gate valve thathas a valve body with fluid inlet and outlet openings. A wedge memberhas a body portion with a gate portion depending downwardly therefrom.The gate portion is arranged to move vertically in the valve body andcontrol the flow of fluid therethrough. A cover member positioned on thevalve body has a chamber therein to receive the wedge member. The wedgemember has a first vertical passageway therethrough spaced laterally onone side of the wedge member gate portion. A guide pin is mountedvertically in the chamber and extends through the wedge member bodyportion vertical passageway. The wedge member body portion has a secondthreaded vertical passageway therethrough that is spaced laterally onthe other side of the wedge member gate portion. A valve stem is mountedvertically in the chamber and extends through the second threadedvertical passageway. The valve stem is operable upon rotation to movethe wedge member vertically and control the flow of fluid through thevalve body.

The valve body length is substantially less than the diameter and thevalve is arranged to be positioned between closely adjacent flangeportions of axially aligned pipe sections.

Accordingly, the principal object of this invention is to provide a gatevalve that has a relatively short body portion and may be positionedbetween closely adjacent pipe flanges.

Another object of this invention is to provide a gate valve in which thevalve stem is laterally offset from the valve gate.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will be morecompletely disclosed and described in the following specification, theaccompanying drawings and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The drawing is a view in verticalsection of my improved gate valve illustrating the gate portion of thewedge member in a closed position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The gate valve generallydesignated by the numeral 10 has a valve body portion 12 and a coverportion 14.

A wedge member generally designated by the numeral 16 has a body portion18 and a depending wedge shaped gate 20.

The valve body portion 12 has a pair of spaced side walls 22 and 24forming a valve chamber 26 therebetween. The valve chamber has annularinwardly converging walls on valve seats 28 and 30 against which theouter surfaces of the wedge shaped gate 20 are arranged to abut in aclosed position to close the valve chamber 26.

The valve body portion side walls 22 and 24 have a pair of alignedcircular openings32 and 34 which, for convenience, will be referred toas inlet opening 32 and outlet opening 34. The valve body portion sidewalls each have a pair of threaded tapped holes 36 and 38 that arearranged to receive bolts 40 and 42 that extend through mating holes 44and 46 in flanges of pipe sections 48 and 50. The pipe flanges 52 and 54are of generally circular configuration and are secured at their lowerend by a plurality of bolts 56 extending through aligned holes 58 and 60in the respective flanges 52 and 54. With this arrangement the valvebody portion 12 is secured to the flanges of aligned adjacent pipesections. It should be noted that the length of valve body portion 12 issubstantially less than its circumference or width so that the valvebody portion can be positioned between the closely adjacent flanged endportions of aligned pipe sections.

The valve body portion wall 22 has a cylindrical recessed portion 62therein that is arranged to receive the end portion of valve stem 64.Similarly, the wall 24 has a cylindrical recessed portion 66 that isarranged to receive the lower end portion of a stabilizing guide pin 68.

The body portion 12 has a generally rectangular top wall 70 to whichthere is secured by bolts a cover member 14. The cover 14 has agenerally inverted cup shaped configuration with a bottom wall 74 thatmates with the upper surface 70 of valve body portion 12. Suitable bolts(not shown) are provided to secure the cover 14 to the valve bodyportion 12. The cover 14 has a top wall 76 and side walls 78 and 80 thatform a chamber 82 that communicates with valve chamber 26. The top wall'76 has a valve stem passageway 84 therethrough and a cylindricalrecessed portion 86 in which the other end portion of the guide pin 68is positioned. The valve stem passageway 84 has an enlarged portion 88in which there is positioned an O-ring seal 99 and a seal retainer orgland 92.

The wedge member 16 has a body portion 18 from which the wedge typevalve gate 20 depends. The valve gate has a vertical axis generallydesignated by the letter A. On one side of the vertical axis A of thewedge member 20 the wedge member body portion 18 has a threadedpassageway 94 through which the stem 64 extends. On the opposite side ofthe vertical axis A of the wedge member 20 the body portion 18 hasanother vertical passageway 96 through which the guide pin 6% extends.

The valve stem 64 has an externally threaded body portion 98 and a lowerend portion 100 of reduced diameter that extends into the cylindricalrecessed portion 62 of valve body 12. The stem has a shoulder portion102 and an upper end portion 194 of reduced diameter that extendsthrough passageway 84. A thrust washer 106 is positioned around thevalve stem upper portion 1M and abuts the shoulder 102. The opposite endof the thrust washer 106 abuts an annular depending shoulder 108 in thetop wall 76 surrounding the passageway 84. There is an annular recessedportion 110 in the thrust washer 106 in which there is positioned anO-ring 112. The thrust washer 106 also serves as a back seal to permitthe removal and replacement of the outer O-ring seal 88 while the valveis open. The upper portion of the stem 104 has a transverse pinpassageway 114 and a square or block member 116 has a mating verticalrecess therein and is positioned on the upper end of stem 64. A shearpin 118 extends through a transverse passageway in block 116 and thepassageway 114 in stem 64 and is arranged to shear when excess torque isexerted on the stem 64.

The guide pin 68 extends through the vertical passageway 96 in the wedgebody portion 18 and has one end positioned in cylindrical recess 66 ofbody portion 12 and the other end positioned in the axially alignedopposite recess 86 in cover top wall 76.

With the above arrangement the wedge 16 is guided vertically andstabilized by the guide pin 68 positioned along one side of the wedge16. The actuating stem 64 extends through the threaded passageway 94 inthe wedge body portion 18 on the opposite side of the wedge 20. Theguide pin 68 and stem 64 are arranged in parallel spaced relation toeach other and are parallel to the longitudinal axis of the wedge 20.

With this arrangement rotation of stem 64 moves the wedge 16 verticallyon both the guide pin 68 and the stem 64 to open and close the openingbetween valve inlet 32 and valve outlet 34. The guide pin 68 stabilizesthe wedge member 16 as it moves vertically in the cover 14 and preventsbinding of the valve stem 64 in the wedge member body portion 18. Whenthe wedge 16 is in a full open position, the upper surface of the bodyportion 18 abuts the under side of the thrust washer 106. The offsetarrangement of the stem 64 and guide pin 68 permit the valve bodyportion to have a relatively short length so that it can be positionedbetween two closely adjacent flanges of aligned pipe sections. The valve10 with a minimum length provides a means to control flow of fluidsthrough-the respective pipe sections 48 and 50.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, we have explainedthe principle, preferred construction and mode of operation of ourinvention and have illustrated and described what we now consider torepresent its best embodiment. However, it should be understood that,within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practicedotherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

We claim:

1. A gate valve comprising,

a valve body having fluid inlet and outlet openings with a valve chambertherebetween,

a wedge member having a body portion with a gate portion dependingtherefrom,

said gate portion arranged to move vertically in said valve chamber andcontrol the flow of fluid therethrough,

a cover member positioned on said valve body,

said cover member having a chamber therein to receive said wedge member,

said wedge member body portion having a first vertical passagewaytherethrough spaced laterally on one side of said gate portion,

a guide pin mounted vertically in said valve cover member chamber andextending through said wedge member body portion, said guide pinterminating above said valve chamber, said guide pin arranged to guidesaid wedge member at a location remote from said valve chamber,

said wedge member body portion having a second threaded verticalpassageway therethrough spaced laterally on the other side of said gateportion, and

a valve stem mounted vertically in said chamber and extending throughsaid second threaded vertical passageway,

said valve stem operable upon rotation to move said wedge membervertically and control the flow of fluid through said valve body.

2. A gate valve as set forth in claim 1 in which,

said wedge member gate portion having a vertical axis,

said cover member having a top wall with a guide pin recessed portion onone side of said gate portion vertical axis,

said cover member top wall having a valve stem passageway therethroughon the other side of said gate portion vertical axis.

3. A gate valve as set forth in claim 2 in which,

said valve body having a pair of spaced side walls and a top wall,

said top wall having a guide pin recessed portion therein on one side ofsaid gate portion vertical axis,

said top wall having a valve stem recessed portion therein on the otherside of said gate portion vertical axis.

4. A gate valve as set forth in claim 3 in which,

said wedge member body portion is positioned in said cover memberchamber,

said guide pin having end portions positioned in said guide pin recessedportions in said valve body portion and said cover member to wall,

said valve stem having one end portion positioned in said valve bodyvalve stem recessed portion and the other end portion extending throughsaid valve stem passageway in said cover member top wall.

5. A gate valve as set forth in claim 1 in which,

said guide pin and said valve stem are arranged in parallel spacedrelation to each other on opposite sides of said wedge member gateportion.

6. A gate valve as set forth in claim 4 which includes,

a thrust washer positioned on said valve stem and abutting said covermember top wall,

said thrust washer having an annular seal member extending around saidvalve stem,

said thrust washer operable to abut said wedge body portion in a valveopen position.

7. A gate valve as set forth in claim a which includes,

a seal member positioned in a receiving portion of said cover membervalve stem passageway and extending around said valve stem,

a gland member engaging said seal member and maintaining said sealmember within said valve stem passageway.

8. A gate valve as set forth in claim 1 in which,

said valve body has a length substantially less than the circumferenceof said valve body.

1. A gate valve comprising, a valve body having fluid inlet and outletopenings with a valve chamber therebetween, a wedge member having a bodyportion with a gate portion depending therefrom, said gate portionarranged to move vertically in said valve chamber and control the flowof fluid therethrough, a cover member positioned on said valve body,said cover member having a chamber therein to receive said wedge member,said wedge member body portion having a first vertical passagewaytherethrough spaced laterally on one side of said gate portion, a guidepin mounted vertically in said valve cover member chamber and extendingthrough said wedge member body portion, said guide pin terminating abovesaid valve chamber, said guide pin arranged to guide said wedge memberat a location remote from said valve chamber, said wedge member bodyportion having a second threaded vertical passageway therethrough spacedlateRally on the other side of said gate portion, and a valve stemmounted vertically in said chamber and extending through said secondthreaded vertical passageway, said valve stem operable upon rotation tomove said wedge member vertically and control the flow of fluid throughsaid valve body.
 2. A gate valve as set forth in claim 1 in which, saidwedge member gate portion having a vertical axis, said cover memberhaving a top wall with a guide pin recessed portion on one side of saidgate portion vertical axis, said cover member top wall having a valvestem passageway therethrough on the other side of said gate portionvertical axis.
 3. A gate valve as set forth in claim 2 in which, saidvalve body having a pair of spaced side walls and a top wall, said topwall having a guide pin recessed portion therein on one side of saidgate portion vertical axis, said top wall having a valve stem recessedportion therein on the other side of said gate portion vertical axis. 4.A gate valve as set forth in claim 3 in which, said wedge member bodyportion is positioned in said cover member chamber, said guide pinhaving end portions positioned in said guide pin recessed portions insaid valve body portion and said cover member to wall, said valve stemhaving one end portion positioned in said valve body valve stem recessedportion and the other end portion extending through said valve stempassageway in said cover member top wall.
 5. A gate valve as set forthin claim 1 in which, said guide pin and said valve stem are arranged inparallel spaced relation to each other on opposite sides of said wedgemember gate portion.
 6. A gate valve as set forth in claim 4 whichincludes, a thrust washer positioned on said valve stem and abuttingsaid cover member top wall, said thrust washer having an annular sealmember extending around said valve stem, said thrust washer operable toabut said wedge body portion in a valve open position.
 7. A gate valveas set forth in claim 4 which includes, a seal member positioned in areceiving portion of said cover member valve stem passageway andextending around said valve stem, a gland member engaging said sealmember and maintaining said seal member within said valve stempassageway.
 8. A gate valve as set forth in claim 1 in which, said valvebody has a length substantially less than the circumference of saidvalve body.